ideas and tips for your cleaning work

Smoke Damage: Floors and Walls Guide

-Wear some proper safety equipment, especially if the smoke odour is still present in the house.

– You should definitely wear a face mask (reducing inhalation of bad air) and gloves (protecting your hands from any loose or sharp objects whilst cleaning)

-Opening all windows will help diffuse the smell of the remaining smoke

Initial Clean Up:

-You should begin the initial clean up as soon as possible when smoke damage has occurred, as the longer you leave the house, the more items unable to be restored.

-Begin with finding all perishable items and get rid of them! (This includes all food)

– It’s best to get rid of things that are unlikely to be properly restored, as you want to focus on the items that are most valuable and attempt to restore these as a priority. You’ll need to gain the courage to throw many things out.

Walls:

When your walls have been damaged by smoke the cleaning process involves a few steps, but depending on the amount of damage and discoloration, the trickiness of the process varies. You’ll have to see whether your walls are charred, or covered with soot. Soot is just the particles (dust) left by the smoke, whilst charring is when the surface is actually burnt. Paint on walls can likely be charred.

It’s going to be hard to know whether a basic cleaning process will work until you begin. Some areas may be relieved of soot, whilst other areas may be too difficult to remove.

You should buy a Trisodium Phosphate cleaner (Sugar Soap or substitutes), gather buckets, sponge, rags and have handy some warm water. (It’s vital that you are wearing your safety gear, as TSP cleaner is a strong substance.

Firstly have a bucket full of warm water and mix it with about 14 millilitres of TSP. Then dip your sponge in and scrub the walls. After some thorough scrubbing you should rinse with plain water. Continue this method, and if it doesn’t work then you may need to consult professionals or look at repairing the wall areas completely.

Floors:

Cleaning your floors from soot caused by smoke is similar to other stain removal processes. Of course the method of cleaning your floors will depend on whether it’s carpet, linoleum, wood, slate or any other surface.

Firstly, with any floor covered in soot you should complete a thorough vacuuming job, as this will release any loose soot that is simply sitting on the surface. You’ll find that most hard surface floors will get the more of an immediate benefit from vacuuming.

If you have carpet floors then it’s likely some of the soot has ingrained itself into the material, which means you’ll need a deep clean, most probably from a steam cleaner. You’ll also need to include full deodorising.

You’ll find that most carpet cleaning or cleaning specialists will be able to complete this job. Some professional companies even have a service dedicated to smoke restoration.

Hard surface floors may simply need warm water and disinfectant (and a mop), which will lift any soot residue that hasn’t been taken by a vacuum job. Unfortunately if you’re floor has charred during a fire, the restoration will include more than just cleaning methods. Repairing floor that’s charred will require some specific guides and more likely some professional assistance.

If you’re keen to get soot or smoke restoration completed without figuring it out yourself you can contact many professional cleaning companies who offer smoke restoration services.

However if you think the overall job isn’t too harsh or demanding, you can attempt these methods as a basic cleaning guide.

You’re going to need to be prepared to face aspects of your home that may be pricey to restore or that will not react to even your best cleaning efforts.